Room For More
by SnowPrincessMossy
Summary: It's summer vacation! Where will Aelita go this summer while Jeremie's at his cousin's? Why, a lake house of course! Two weeks with Odd, Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita with families in tow. OxA and YxU DISCONTINUED
1. Two Weeks

**I've been lacking in the 'it's summer, write about it' category, so here's a summer story! Yes, it's delayed, but hey, better late then never right? I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko**

**Claimer: I own Alice, Annie, and Isabella**

**--**

"It's summer!" Odd announced, dropping onto his bed with a blissful smile on his face.

"Yea, we were just talking about that." Ulrich stated shortly, looking across the room at his blonde friend.

"So," Odd said, ignoring Ulrich's comment, "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Yumi asked, "Plan like, go home, come back, don't forget to call?"

"That's such a boring plan." Odd whined, propping himself up on his right elbow, while his other arm slithered around Aelita's waist, drawing her body closer to his own.

"What else can we do Odd?" Ulrich asked, "It's not like we exactly live close together."

"Odd has a plan." Odd stated.

"Does he now?" Yumi asked, "Does he want to share at all?"

"Maybe." Odd grinned.

"Does Odd's plan include where his little pink girlfriend goes?" Ulrich asked.

"Of course." Odd replied, "Odd thinks of everything."

"Aelita thinks that it's good that Odd at least remembers her." Aelita chirped.

"And where exactly will she go?" Yumi asked.

"She will go with Yumi, and with Ulrich, and with Odd." Odd replied.

"All at once?" Ulrich asked.

"Yes." Odd replied happily.

"How many of her are there?" Yumi asked, looking confused.

"Yea, how am I going to manage that?" Aelita asked, giving Odd a confused look.

"Summer magic." Odd said, rolling onto his back.

"What is summer magic called Odd?" Yumi asked.

"Summer magic." Odd replied, "Or summer magic thingamabobby, whichever you prefer."

"You gonna tell us what you had in mind?" Ulrich prodded.

"Maybe." Odd said, "Maybe I'll let you wait and find out for yourselves."

"What has he done?" Yumi asked Aelita.

"I know as much as you do." Aelita stated.

"You'll know more soon." Odd sighed.

"How do you know this?" Yumi asked.

"I know because I have a sister, named Adele, and she plays the game of warning Odd before everyone else." Odd stated.

"What do you mean?" Ulrich asked.

"I mean to be all confusing for the next three, two, one…" Odd said nonchalantly.

Aelita let out a yelp as Odd pulled her down next to him.

"Now." Odd grinned as the confused looks of Yumi and Ulrich turned to looks of surprise as their cell phones rang simultaneously.

Yumi stood, making her way to the hallway as she answered her phone.

"Hello?" Ulrich asked.

"What's going on?" Aelita whispered.

"It's ok, we'll talk once they get off the phone." Odd whispered back calmly.

Aelita eyed the blonde sideways but didn't object, other than to sit back up on the bed.

"Yea, no, no, that sounds like fun. Lots of fun." Ulrich stuttered, "Yea, alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Right, Bye." He hung up his cell phone and stared at it disbelievingly.

Yumi came back in and leaned against the door, "So Odd," She said, "Your plan didn't involve this at all did it?"

"What? The lake house? Not exactly my plan, but it was what I was talking about." Odd smiled.

"What?" Aelita asked, feeling completely out of the loop.

"Our parents have rented a lake house." Yumi said, "And we're going there, leaving tomorrow afternoon."

"You mean all together?" Aelita asked.

"Yea," Ulrich answered, "Which means we'll need to pack and stuff soon-ish so that we're ready tomorrow."

"Oh," Aelita said, "I see."

"I knew I came in here for something." Odd sighed.

Yumi and Aelita eyed the blonde, who still lay flat out on his bed.

"We should go… pack." Yumi said, grabbed Aelita by the shoulders and following her closely out of the room.

"You scared the girls away Odd." Ulrich stated bluntly, taking Odd's empty duffel bag and throwing it at him.

"They'll be back. But we've got weeks together now, that's great right?" Odd said, beginning to get excited as he sat up, throwing his duffel on the bed beside him.

"I can't wait." Ulrich rolled his eyes, "Just promise you'll go back to normal?"

"Lyoko warrior's honor." Odd promised.

Ulrich sighed, "Lyoko's gone buddy."

"It's the pride and honor that counts." Odd muttered solemnly.

--

"Yumi?" Aelita asked, turning to look at her black-haired friend who was folding clothes, placing them neatly inside her black duffel bag.

"Hmm?" Yumi mumbled, turning expectantly towards the younger pink-haired female.

"What's a lake house?" Aelita asked.

"Umm…" Yumi stuttered, caught off guard by such a simple question, "Well, a lake house is… Umm… Why don't we ask Jer? He's better at explaining things."

"He's in Nebraska," Aelita stated, "Visiting his cousins."

"That's right," Yumi muttered, "Umm… A lake house is… a house, near a lake, and it's normally pretty big, which is how we're all gonna fit in one."

"How many of us are there?" Aelita asked.

"There's Ulrich, Odd, me, and you, as well as my family, Hiroki, my mom, and my dad. Then there's Odd's family, and who knows how many more that is." Yumi began.

"Odd's family adds seven." Aelita stated.

"Seven?" Yumi exclaimed.

"Yea, his mom, Adele, Pauline, Elizabeth, Louise, Marie, and Alice." Aelita said, counting the people up on her fingers, "And then Ulrich's family.

"Which is his mom, his dad, Annie and Isabella." Yumi said.

"That's," Aelita muttered, staring intently at the wall behind Yumi as she mentally counted people, "Eighteen of us all together."

"That is a lot of people." Yumi said.

"How long are we there?" Aelita inquired.

"Two weeks." Yumi replied, "Two weeks."

--

**I know it's a little short, but it's a first chapter. Review please!**


	2. Come on Licky!

**Disclaimer – I do not own the song 'Untouched' by The Veronicas. (And I still don't own Code Lyoko.)**

**Thanks to Rena, Kitty, and Kiwi who helped me out with the little things that matter 3**

**--**

_Cause you're the only one who's on my mind  
I'll never ever let you leave me  
I'll try to stop time for ever, never wanna hear you say goodbye (bye bye bye)_

"Odd." Ulrich groaned, "Alarm off now."

"Ulrich," Odd groaned back, "Get it yourself."

"You're closest." Ulrich grumbled.

"You, move faster." Odd objected.

"It's your clock." Ulrich stated.

There was a knock at the door, "Boys?"

"Yea?" The teens groaned in unison.

Yumi opened the door, sighing as she walked over to the clock, "Get up." She ordered.

"Why?" Odd whined.

"It's nine' o'clock for one thing." Yumi stated, "And our parents just called, they'll be here in an hour."

"Merph." Ulrich grunted, "How are we split up?"

"We're going in Adele's car with her." Yumi said, "That's all I know."

"Oh goody." Odd said, "Adele will just love us being cooped up in her car with her."

Yumi and Ulrich gave Odd a look, which Odd saw through one half-open eye.

"Its a couple hours drive to the lake house." Odd explained, "Adele will refuse to drive us anywhere ever again by the end of it."

"All good fun." Yumi said, "But you two need to get up, and eat, before we go. The last thing we want is to be in a car for multiple hours with a hungry Odd."

"This is so true." Ulrich sighed, rolling out of bed.

"I'm not so sure, you know, I'm agreeable by nature." Odd said, pushing himself up to sit up in bed.

"Pssshhh." Yumi scoffed, "Not when you're hungry. Trust me."

"You fed Aelita yet?" Ulrich asked.

"Umm…" Yumi stuttered.

"You'd better do that." Odd advised.

"She's a big girl." Yumi huffed.

"And we're big boys, you still gotta get us up and feed us." Ulrich stated, "She's a girl, she's moodier by nature."

"Thanks." Yumi said, giving Ulrich a sarcastic eye roll, "You get ready to go, I'll make sure that we all end up eating."

"Alright, we'll monitor each other." Ulrich agreed.

"See you in an hour." Yumi waved, leaving the room.

"Bye." Ulrich smiled.

--

Aelita buzzed about the room, checking and double checking her bags, wondering if she needed this or that.

"Lita?" Yumi asked, opening the door. Her pink haired friend had hardly mumbled a 'morning' at her as she had gone to make sure the boys were awake.

"Hi Yumi," Aelita greeted cheerfully.

"Hi," Yumi chuckled, seeing her friend, so obviously excited and apprehensive about the trip.

Yumi strode over to her friend, taking the book Aelita was holding and handing her the small elfin doll that was lying on her pillow.

"Trust me." Yumi said, placing the book on the bed, "You won't be reading too much."

"Thanks." Aelita said with a grin.

"You eaten yet?" Yumi asked.

"Umm…" Aelita stuttered, "No?"

"Let's go find something for breakfast then." Yumi said cheerily, "Now that we're all packed."

"Ok." Aelita agreed; placing the elf doll, Mr. Puck, into her duffel and zipping it closed.

--

Odd and Ulrich were already sitting in the cafeteria when Yumi and Aelita arrived, along with a handful of other students who had yet to leave for vacation.

"I don't know; I've not seen the place before." Ulrich stated, "And besides-" He cut himself off.

"Besides what?" Yumi asked apprehensively, searching Ulrich's big innocent grin.

"Nothing. Promise." Ulrich grinned.

"Yuh-huh," Yumi raised an eyebrow, "That's why you look so guilty."

"Of course, I always look guilty." Ulrich said quickly.

"Ulrich!" Odd hissed, "Stop sounding stupid."

"Then tell her to stop interrogating me!" Ulrich hissed back through gritted teeth.

"You're job buddy." Odd replied simply, turning to Aelita, "Morning Princess." He grinned.

"Thanks." Ulrich rolled his eyes, turning back to grin at Yumi, "We were just talking, really."

"Boys." Yumi sighed, "Really." She sat beside Aelita, across the table from the boys.

"You gotta watch them." Aelita stated.

"Yes, yes you do." Yumi agreed, biting into a banana.

"Hey! We're trustable." Odd retorted.

"Trustworthy Odd, it's trustworthy." Ulrich sighed.

"Whatever it is, we are it." Odd said, nodding his head decidedly.

"Ooh, making up words are we now Odd?" Yumi asked, smiling sweetly.

"Like you never made up a word before." Odd bit back.

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Tawainai neko." She muttered.

"See! You make up words!" Odd jumped, pointing an accusing finger at Yumi.

"That was Japanese Odd." Ulrich stated, resting his forehead on a fist and murmuring, "It's going to be a long day."

"Yes it is." Aelita agreed, "Yes it is."

--

"Right, do we all have everything?" Ulrich asked, surveying his own bags before looking up.

"Yes dad." Odd said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes." Yumi answered, smacking Odd in the head with the back of her hand.

"Yep." Aelita said with a giggle.

"What was that for?" Odd whined.

"Try to be mature for five minutes please?" Yumi sighed.

Ulrich rolled his eyes, "Is he ever mature?"

"No." Aelita answered quickly, receiving a glare from Odd, "But that's why we love you." She reassured the blonde, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Odd sent Ulrich a 'help me out here' glance. Ulrich just smiled and mouthed back 'whipped.' Odd glared at the brunet, but the soft sound of tire on cement stopped him from going further.

"Hey guys!" Came a friendly voice as a woman who was middle height, not tall but not especially short either, stepped out of a sea-foam green minivan. Her deep magenta hair was tied back into a messy bun by a soft pink ribbon.

"Hi mom." Odd greeted with a smile.

"Nice to see you Mrs. Della Robbia." Yumi greeted formally.

"Please, call me Andrea." Mrs. Della Robbia replied.

"LICKY!!" Came a happy screech from young brunette child, her body reaching for the embarrassed looking brunet, urging her brunette mother to walk faster.

A stern looking man accompanied the two, holding the hand of another small girl whose hair was dark chocolate brown. She scuffed her shoes on the sidewalk as she walked, her hair falling down to cover her face.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Stern." Aelita and Yumi greeted in unison, ignoring Odd's snickers.

"Hello Yumi, Aelita, and Odd." Ulrich's mom, Elaine, said warmly, handing the struggling child to Ulrich.

"LICKY!" She screeched happily as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"Hi Izzy," Ulrich said, tilting his head up and away in an attempt to breathe.

"Izzy, don't strangle your brother." Ulrich's dad, Andrew, reprimanded gently.

"Sorry Licky." Izzy muttered, releasing her grip on his neck.

"Licky?" Odd giggled.

"Be quiet Odd." Ulrich groaned.

"ODD!" Shouted the happy voice of a girl, whose hair was so blonde it was almost white, though there was a purple ring of color around the child's head that went from eye to eye.

"Umph!" Odd gasped as the little blonde bullet hit him at waist height, "Hi Alice." He smiled.

"Alice?" asked the girl who stood beside Andrew, lifting her head to look over at the blonde girl.

"Annie?" Asked Alice, looking over at the brunet.

"Hi!" They squealed, racing to hug each other.

While the boys had been getting attacked by their respective siblings, Yumi had slunk off to greet her own family, and now stood with an uncomfortable looking Hiroki and her happy looking parents.

"They're so little!" Hiroki complained, "Nobody's gonna be my age."

"You're only three years older than Alice and Annie." Yumi replied, "You'll be fine."

A female who appeared to be about twenty walked over to the Ishiyama family. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was tipped with purple.

"Ready to get going?" She asked.

"Yea," Yumi nodded, "I'll see you guys there." Yumi waved to her parents and leaving with the girl.

"Does Odd have to go with Adele?" Alice whined, clinging to her brother's leg.

"Yes he does." Odd replied, "You can ask if you can ride with Annie."

"Ok!" Alice chirped, "Bye Odd!" She took off running towards the Stern's.

"Ready to go guys?" Adele asked.

"Yea," Odd said, "Let me just get Ulrich." He smirked deviously.

"Odd," Aelita warned.

"LICKY!!" Odd yelled, "TIME TO GO!"

"ODD!" Ulrich growled, handing an unhappy Izzy to his mother.

"Licky no go!" She protested.

"You'll see me when we get to the lake house, I promise." Ulrich reassured her before walking over to where Odd, Yumi, Aelita, and Adele were waiting.

"Licky's coming with us." Odd smiled.

"Shut up Odd," Ulrich said curtly, "She's only three."

"Let's get going boys!" Adele said as she got into the driver's side of a black car.

"Isn't that dad's car?" Odd asked apprehensively.

"He gave it to me, remember?" Adele said gently.

"I forgot." Odd smiled, hopping into the backseat behind Adele.

Yumi slid into the passenger seat, and Aelita took up the seat directly behind her, leaving Ulrich with the task of climbing into the middle.

"Thanks guys." Ulrich said flatly, "I love climbing over people."

"You're welcome Ulrich." Odd smiled.

Ulrich growled but clambered into the car over Odd's legs.

"I love the view." Odd stated as Ulrich paused to regain his balance.

"I know you do Odd." Ulrich taunted, falling over so that his head ended up in Aelita's lap while his legs were on Odd's.

"Hi Ulrich." Aelita said with a smile.

"Hey," Ulrich replied, swinging his legs down to heave himself into a sitting position.

"Are we all ready now?" Adele asked, putting the key in the ignition.

"Yes." Odd replied, clicking his seatbelt into the buckle.

"And we're off!" Adele announced as the car rumbled to life and began its crawl across the pavement after the cars containing the other thirteen vacationing family members.

--

**Tawainai neko means silly cat**

**I hope you like this chapter! Review please. And check out the forum called Xana's Lair which can be found at cl.yourbb.nl/index.php**


	3. StirCrazy vs OddCrazy

**Hey! Yea, this chapter came now thanks to Kiwi, who wouldn't send me 'Dear Friend' until I finished this. If she hadn't done that it might have been another week or two.**

**--**

"A hunting we shall go, A hunting we shall go," Odd sang jovially.

"Odd, please stop singing." Ulrich groaned.

"Or at least stop singing that." Aelita added.

"Why don't we turn the radio on?" Yumi suggested.

"It's broken." Adele stated, "If we had an MP3 player we could plug that in."

"Oh darn," Odd sniggered, "Too bad we don't have any of those."

Ulrich eyed Odd, "This doesn't mean that we need Odd the human radio."

"You ruin all my fun." Odd huffed, turning to stare blankly out the window at the moving scenery outside.

**- 20 minutes later -**

"The bear climbed over the mountain, the bear climbed over the mountain," Odd sang quietly.

"Odd, enough with the singing already." Ulrich groaned.

"Please." Yumi agreed.

"But I'm bored." Odd whined.

"Then find a quiet way to amuse yourself." Aelita suggested.

"How much further is it?" Odd asked.

"About an hour." Adele stated bluntly, "One long hour."

Odd, Aelita, Ulrich, and Yumi all groaned in unison.

**- 15 minutes later -**

"Has it been an hour yet?" Odd groaned.

"No." Adele replied, "You got another forty-five minutes."

"Ugh."

**- 10 minutes later - **

"Does anyone have a pack of cards?" Odd asked.

"No." Ulrich replied curtly.

"How do you even play cards in the car?" Aelita asked.

"It is possible." Odd reassured her.

"Why did I agree to come in this car again?" Yumi asked.

"Same reason I agreed to drive you," Adele stated, "There was no choice."

**- 10 minutes later –**

"We are driving, driving in a car," Odd sang.

"To a lake house, a lake house with a door." Aelita continued.

"Are you sure we're not there yet?" Ulrich asked grumpily.

"It's only been ten minutes." Adele replied.

"We're trapped in a time vortex." Yumi stated, "And time has been slowed down."

**- 15 minutes later –**

"This is the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends," Aelita sang happily.

"Some people, started singing it not knowing what it was," Odd joined in.

"And now they'll just keep singing it forever just because," Ulrich added.

"Ulrich!" Yumi scolded, "I thought you were my sane friend."

"If you can't beat them," Adele stated flatly.

"I'll keep the crazy in the back thanks." Yumi sighed, leaning back in the seat.

**- 5 minutes later –**

"This is the drive that never ends," Ulrich began.

"It just goes on and on my friends," Odd added with a gleeful smile.

"Some people, starting driving it," Aelita faltered.

"And now they'll just keep going on because this is the…" Yumi sang.

"We're here!" Adele announced excitedly.

"WHOOHOO!" Odd, Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita screamed joyously as the car rolled to a stop.

Yumi opened her door and happily stood up, stretching before slamming the door closed. Ulrich and Odd filed out of one side of the car eagerly, also stretching and closing the door. Aelita opened the door and attempted to get out, though she was held back by something pressing against her hips and across her body diagonally.

"You coming Princess?" Ulrich asked as he hefted a duffel bag onto his shoulder.

"I'm trying!" She huffed, attempting again to stand up only to be thwarted by the persistent strip that was holding her back.

"Wha-?" Yumi asked, turning to look as she began walking towards the lake house, a bag thrown over her shoulder, she erupted into a fit of giggles.

Ulrich looked around to see Aelita, held in the car by the seatbelt she had neglected to take off. But rather than helping the pink haired girl, he just laughed, shaking his head as he resumed his walk towards the lake house.

Odd popped his head out from around the back of the car.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Her… seatbelt…" Yumi managed between giggles.

Odd rolled his eyes, "Lita, try unbuckling the seatbelt." He suggested.

Aelita looked to where her seatbelt was still dutifully snapped into the buckle.

"Oh," She muttered, her face flushing a deep pink, "Oops."

Yumi giggled as she headed off to find where to dump her stuff inside the lake house. Odd handed Aelita a bag and took one himself.

"Let's go find out were we're supposed to be." Odd said cheerfully.

"Right behind you." Aelita stated; heaving the bag Odd had handed her earlier.

--

"So, we'll if we have each couple in a room to themselves, then we could put the... How many of us are there again?" Adele asked, rubbing her eyes. Papers were strewn across the coffee table in front of her, hand-made maps and rejected rooming designs. Takeo and Akkio sat nearby, talking with Andrea and Ulrich's parents.

"Eighteen Adele, We've been over this." Odd stated with a sigh, his placing his feet on the coffee table.

"Feet off." Yumi growled, "Give the parents their own rooms, that's three rooms taken." She suggested.

"And then what? Is it boys and girls?" Ulrich asked.

"Yes." Adele said, "So there are three boys, Ulrich, Odd, and Hiroki."

"And then there's the girls." Odd stated, "And there's no way your scrunching them all up in one room."

"Pffft, like I would do that." Adele scoffed.

"We could put Aelita and Yumi in one; Izzy, Annie, and Alice in another; and then split up the remaining Della Robbias into a group of two and a group of three." Ulrich suggested.

"I could room with Pauline, and then Elizabeth and the twins could be in the last room." Adele stated.

"Does that work?" Yumi asked, eyeing the home-made map.

"Umm…" Adele muttered, furiously scribbling initials on the map, "It does!" She yelped happily.

"Yay!" Odd cheered, "Now, point me towards my room."

"You, Ulrich, and Hiroki are upstairs, at the end of the hall to the right, Yumi and Aelita are at the end on the left." Adele stated, "Annie, Izzy, and Alice are downstairs, between Mom and the Stern's, across from the Ishiyama's."

"Sounds good." Aelita said, shouldering her bags.

"Who else is upstairs?" Odd asked.

"Me and Pauline, and Elizabeth and the twins, we're across from each other, the first two rooms."

"Cool." Odd smiled, grabbing his bags and taking off, "Come on then, let's get our stuff in our rooms."

Ulrich sighed, but followed, quickly joined by Yumi, Aelita, and Hiroki, who was looking a little overwhelmed.

"Don't worry," Ulrich reassured the boy, "Odd's only slightly insane, and it's only contagious through kissing."

"Hey!" Odd huffed, "You were singing in the car too!"

"I was stir-crazy, not Odd-crazy, there's a difference." Ulrich stated bluntly.

Odd stuck his tongue out at the brunet childishly.

"You calling me crazy too?" Aelita challenged.

"I said it was transmitted through kissing, I'm sorry, I don't think Odd-crazy is curable." Ulrich shrugged.

"Eww." Hiroki stated.

Aelita stuck her tongue out childishly at both boys.

"Example." Ulrich said with a grin, "Just don't go kissing Odd or Aelita and you'll be fine."

"Break it up children." Yumi sighed; opening the door to the room her and Aelita would be sharing.

"I is not a child!" Odd whined, "I'm a big boy." He stated with a childish grin, disappearing into the room he was sharing with Hiroki and Ulrich.

"Boys mature?" Aelita asked.

"No, no they don't." Yumi answered, dumping her stuff on the floor of the room.

"I heard that!" Ulrich's voice came as he stood in the doorway after quickly dumping his stuff on the floor of the other room.

"It's true." Yumi said, walking over to him.

Ulrich crossed his arms, "Oh really?"

"Yes." Yumi replied, giving him a kiss on the forehead, "It is. Deal with it."

**--**

**I hope you like it! It should get more exciting soon, now that we're a little further in. Review please!**


	4. Hide and Seek

**It's been what? Forever since I've updated? Yea, School and activities and such are keeping me busy, but I haven't forgotten this story!**

**XxX**

"What now?" Odd asked, leaning against the wall of the hallway, once they had dumped their bags they had gone out to get some groceries and find a place to eat dinner, being early summer the light was fading slowly.

"It's still kinda light out." Yumi offered, glancing out the nearby window at the darkening sky and orange wisps of clouds.

"Why don't we go outside and do something?" Aelita suggested, "We've been inside all day."

"Okay!" Odd agreed enthusiastically, bouncing down the stairs toward the front door.

"Let's go." Ulrich nodded, taking up the rear as the trio followed their overly energetic friend.

They found Odd halfway up a nearby tree.

"Why not hide and seek?" He asked, dropping his body to swing from a low branch.

"Isn't that a game for little kids?" Ulrich asked.

"Sounds perfect." Yumi stated.

"Oh shut up Yumi." Ulrich retorted.

Odd dropped down to the ground, landing in a neat crouch, "I say we play anyway, it's fun right?"

"Yea." Aelita agreed.

"Okay." Ulrich sighed, "Outside, inside, or both?"

"Outside." Yumi said decisively, "Annie, Izzy, and Alice will be going to bed soon and we don't want to keep them up."

"Okay." Aelita agreed, "Who's going to look first?"

The four teens exchanged glances.

"Not it!" Odd screamed.

"Not it!" Aelita chorused.

"Not it!" Yumi added, catching on.

"You people are so mature." Ulrich sighed, leaning against the tree, "I'm counting to twenty-five. One, two, three…"

Odd grinned and scurried away. Yumi took off towards where the cars were parked. Aelita hurried away into the trees that thickened into a forest.

"Four, five, six…"

Odd looked out over the lake, nothing that would hide him, except for the dock, which would only protect him if he hid in the lake itself.

"Seven, eight, nine…"

Yumi grunted as she lowered herself to the ground, carefully inspecting the heights of the vehicles.

"Ten, eleven, twelve…"

Aelita found a tree that looked easy enough to climb not too far into the forest. Grabbing the lowest branch she hoisted herself up.

"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…"

Finding no better hiding spot Odd pulled his shirt over his head, kicking off his shoes, stuffing them under a thick bush. He hoped the water wasn't too cold.

"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…"

Yumi dragged herself under the car she had determined had the most space between the machinery and the ground. Her shirt collected loose dust, as did her hair, but she could shower after the game, it was outdoors and a little dirt wasn't going to hurt anyone.

"Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…"

Aelita had found a crook in the tree that provided the perfect seat for her. Now all she had to do was wait.

"Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four…"

Odd, having left his clothing beneath the bush, was now about waist-deep in chilly lake water. Taking a breath he dunked his head under the water and swam for the dock.

"Twenty-five! Ready or not, here I come!" Ulrich yelled into the air around him. He glanced around a few times before deciding to look in the forested area first, what better place to hide then behind a tree?

Odd came up beneath the dock. It was slimy with algae and seaweed, but it was the perfect hiding spot. He stayed near the edge, not daring to venture too far under the wooden structure for fear of the unknown that dwelled further into the shadows.

Aelita's breath slowed as she saw Ulrich walking nearby, she leaned back against the tree trunk hoping that he wouldn't notice her. No such luck.

"Hi Aelita." Ulrich grinned, looking up at her from the base of the tree she occupied.

"Hi Ulrich." She replied.

"Didn't think I'd notice the big pink growth in the tree?" He asked raising an eyebrow as she clambered to the ground.

"I can dream." She replied.

"Why don't we try looking somewhere else?" Ulrich suggested, "Trees get boring."

"Ok then." Aelita nodded.

The pair walked out of the forest, scanning the lake quickly, but not expecting anything they walked over to better hiding places nearer the lake house. They stood behind the rows of cars, thinking where to look first.

"If you were hiding here, where would you hide?" Ulrich asked.

"Umm… Somewhere unexpected." Aelita replied, "Not in a bush or behind a tree."

"Hmmm…" Ulrich mused, dropping down so that he rested on his toes and hands, like he was doing a push-up. He peered under the cars.

Yumi saw this and grinned, though remained silent.

"Hi Yumi." Ulrich smiled, standing up he walked over to help her get to her feet as she hauled herself from under the parked vehicle.

"Where's Odd?" She asked.

"I don't know." Aelita said, "Knowing him it's some genius place that we'll never find."

"Where would nobody look?" Yumi asked, brushing dirt from her shirt.

The trio thought silently for a moment, before looking at each other in sudden realization.

"The lake." They said in unison, taking off towards the lake. The only logical place to hide in the lake was the dock; there were no other good hiding places.

"Aren't the poles normally stationary?" Ulrich murmured.

"Yes." Aelita replied.

"Normally not so blonde either." Yumi added.

"Odd!" Ulrich shouted out, hurrying down the dock with Yumi and Aelita close behind, "I found you!"

"I was wondering how long it would take you." Odd replied, "It's cold in here."

"You can come out now buddy." Ulrich said, leaning down and offering his hand.

"Could, uh, somebody get my clothes for me first?" Odd asked uncertainly, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink though the water and seaweed hid most of his body from view.

"Uh…" Yumi stuttered, "Where are they?"

"In the bush over there." Odd replied.

"Aelita, you go." Yumi said.

"Why?" Aelita whined.

"He's you're boyfriend." Yumi stated, "I don't want to go finding his clothes, and you're better at it than I am."

"Nuh-uh!" Aelita retorted, before the full meaning of Yumi's sentence sank in, "Um, I mean, well, not that I've had to, you know, because…" She backpedaled.

"Don't worry Princess," Ulrich reassured the pink haired girl, "Yumi can't find her clothes if she doesn't put them there."

"Right, I'll just go get Odd's clothes then." Aelita said, pink faced she scurried off to retrieve said clothing.

"I don't even want to know how you know that Ulrich." Odd stated.

"I don't want to know how little you are wearing." Yumi stated.

"Well, what do you think I'm wearing?" Odd asked.

"Well, my guess would be that you're in you're birthday suit." Ulrich stated.

"Yea, I'm trying not to think about it." Yumi said.

"You're trying not to think about me naked but you have no problem filling my head with thoughts of you and Ulrich hunting for clothing?" Odd gaped.

"Odd! I don't know why you would think about that." Yumi huffed.

"You think about me naked!" Odd retorted, just as Aelita came back with his clothing.

"Well, it's good to know people think about Odd naked." She stated.

"It's not just you Aelita, we all get those mental images from time to time." Ulrich said.

"You know what?" Yumi said, "I think I'm going to go and have a shower, I'll see you guys later."

"Lita, there's a towel in the trunk of my dad's car, it should be open, can you go grab it please?" Ulrich asked.

"Sure." She nodded, hurrying off down the dock.

Odd smiled, "Great hiding spot huh?"

"Sure." Ulrich said, "Next time, let's try something with clothes on eh?"

"Yes sir." Odd said, "It may be less cold that way."

"Maybe." Ulrich agreed.

The two stayed in silence for a few moments before Aelita came back, bearing a forest green towel. Ulrich hoisted Odd onto the dock where he was promptly presented with said towel.

"No more hide and seek." Ulrich stated.

"Sounds good." Aelita said.

"Not for today anyway." Odd agreed, now fully clothed he wrapped the towel around his shoulders for warmth.

"Let's go inside so Odd can warm up a bit, it's getting late anyway." Aelita suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea." Ulrich said, "Let's go."

**XxX**

**Thanks to Kiwi for beta reading this for me! **


End file.
